StartupsNPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94NPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94StartupsWed, 07 Jun 2017 08:08:04 +0000Startupshttp://news.stlpublicradio.org
Kelly MoffittOn Obinno Coley’s first day as a student teacher at McCluer North, his supervisor had to leave when his wife went to the hospital to have a baby. “He gave me a book and said: ‘you’re on your own,'” Coley told St. Louis on the Air host Don Marsh on Monday. “I worked with that book for the next three months and at the end of it I said ‘wherever I go, I will bring this with me.’” That book was a guide for teaching entrepreneurship to students. Today, Coley brings startup and entrepreneurial culture into the classroom every day at Normandy High School , which has experienced its ups and downs over the past several years and is now awaiting provisional accreditation from that state, pending end-of-year testing results. Coley is the high school’s entrepreneurship teacher, a program he created from the ground-up in the school district. He supervises an elective track that gets high schoolers into the idea of conceptualizing, testing and bringing forth business ideas into the world at a young‘Be creators, not consumers:’ Normandy teacher brings entrepreneurial spirit to the classroomhttp://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/be-creators-not-consumers-normandy-teacher-brings-entrepreneurial-spirit-classroom
56231 as http://news.stlpublicradio.orgMon, 05 Jun 2017 20:38:47 +0000‘Be creators, not consumers:’ Normandy teacher brings entrepreneurial spirit to the classroomKelly MoffittIf you’ve spent any time around the startup space, you know that connecting entrepreneurs with funding is an essential part of the mix for a new company to be successful. You’ll also know that “creativity” is a buzzword entrepreneurs love to throw around. But what about the initial creatives: artists? Laura Callanan is the founding partner of Upstart Co-Lab , an impact investing and business development team that seeks to connect artists with social entrepreneurs and funding mechanisms. In the St. Louis region alone, arts and culture institutions generate some half a billion dollars in economic activity each year, but it is often a one-way cash flow, with low levels of investment to fund the arts and artists. On Tuesday’s St. Louis on the Air , Callanan joined host Don Marsh to discuss her work. She doesn’t see artists as any different from social entrepreneurs doing work in the startup scene and wants to reverse the flow of funds to help those artists do their work. “Our mission is toWhat can artists learn from social entrepreneurs in the investing, startup space?http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/what-can-artists-learn-social-entrepreneurs-investing-startup-space
56056 as http://news.stlpublicradio.orgTue, 09 May 2017 21:18:30 +0000What can artists learn from social entrepreneurs in the investing, startup space?Maria AltmanIf you throw a rock in the St. Louis startup ecosystem, you’ll likely hit a company that’s gotten some of its investment funds from the Missouri Technology Corporation. The Missouri General Assembly established the public-private partnership in 1994 to promote entrepreneurism and grow high-tech companies. MTC has co-invested about $35 million in nearly 100 startups since 2011, many of them based in St. Louis. That investment may dry up soon. While MTC’s state appropriation this fiscal year was nearly $23 million, Gov. Eric Greitens has proposed slashing it to $5 million for FY18. A House budget bill has cut MTC’s budget further, to just $1 million. St. Louis Public Radio contacted Greitens’ office several times regarding MTC’s budget, but received no response. Lack of understanding In public addresses, the Republican governor often speaks of job creation. Last month Greitens attended Microsoft’s announcement that it would bring 150 jobs to St. Louis’ innovation district Cortex. St. Louis' startup scene braces for cuts to Missouri Technology Corporation http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/st-louis-startup-scene-braces-cuts-missouri-technology-corporation
55815 as http://news.stlpublicradio.orgFri, 07 Apr 2017 01:47:35 +0000St. Louis' startup scene braces for cuts to Missouri Technology Corporation Camille PhillipsThe St. Louis business incubator founded to attract and keep entrepreneurs in the region seems to be delivering on its premise. The majority of Arch Grant recipients are staying in St. Louis after the year-long requirement that is a condition of the $50,000 grant.Most Arch Grant startups choose to stay in St. Louis after first yearhttp://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/most-arch-grant-startups-choose-stay-st-louis-after-first-year
50175 as http://news.stlpublicradio.orgSun, 29 Nov 2015 03:06:53 +0000Most Arch Grant startups choose to stay in St. Louis after first yearCamille PhillipsEleven more startups are receiving Arch Grants Thursday. In exchange for locating in St. Louis, the businesses will receive $50,000 and a year of support in areas ranging from accounting to marketing. Some companies receiving the grants are already located in St. Louis, such as the recent Washington University and Saint Louis University graduates behind Chrona Sleep. Other companies are relocating, including two international companies.Winter 2015 Arch Grant recipients announcedhttp://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/winter-2015-arch-grant-recipients-announced
49780 as http://news.stlpublicradio.orgThu, 12 Nov 2015 11:00:00 +0000Winter 2015 Arch Grant recipients announcedÁine O'ConnorSt. Louis has hosted a healthy, burgeoning startup community for some years and the strong showing of small tech businesses has drawn particular attention, leading some to call St. Louis the “next Silicon Valley.” With a healthy network in place to support new companies, community leaders and entrepreneurs are now working to increase diversity within St. Louis’ startup culture. At the forefront of these efforts is Prosper , an investment and mentoring organization for women entrepreneurs, and Vision 2015 , a full-day regional symposium on career opportunities in bioscience, tech, and manufacturing for women, minorities, veterans, and immigrants. On Tuesday, “St. Louis on the Air” host Don Marsh spoke with representatives from both about diversity in entrepreneurship, the difficulty of starting companies and finding funds, and the future of St. Louis’ startup community. Prosper works to close the gender gap in entrepreneurship through two programs: Prosper Institute, which trains andEncouraging diversity in the St. Louis startup communityhttp://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/encouraging-diversity-st-louis-startup-community
46404 as http://news.stlpublicradio.orgTue, 09 Jun 2015 20:01:51 +0000Encouraging diversity in the St. Louis startup communityCamille PhillipsUpdated at 11:05 a.m. Monday February 9, 2015 to include competition results. On Friday, St. Louis held it's first bio-health Startup Weekend. For 54 hours, eight teams worked to build a health-related business from the ground up. Cities around the country and the globe have held Startup Weekends . St. Louis had its first Startup Weekend in 2012. “Traditionally, building a business over 72 hours or 54 hours lends itself to information technology, highly scalable businesses, a lot of developers, and so that’s what typically comes out of Startup Weekends,” said BioHealth Startup Weekend organizer Ben Burke, who works for Arch Grants . “And so the idea here is that we wanted to narrow down to health technologies.” That way, Burke explained, health ideas don’t get lost in the crowd. According to Burke, about 45 people signed up to participate in the event, with 20 ideas pitched Friday evening. The group selected eight ideas to pursue, and then broke up into teams based on interest andEntrepreneur Hopefuls Team Up To Develop Bio-Health Business Ideashttp://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/entrepreneur-hopefuls-team-develop-bio-health-business-ideas
43254 as http://news.stlpublicradio.orgMon, 09 Feb 2015 00:26:40 +0000Entrepreneur Hopefuls Team Up To Develop Bio-Health Business IdeasErica SmithSeveral factors are helping St. Louis make a name for itself as a startup city. “First of all is talent,” Thomas Osha told “St. Louis on the Air” host Don Marsh on Thursday. Osha is managing director of innovation and economic development for Wexford Science + Technology . “Talent trumps everything. That’s why it is the fuel of entrepreneurial activity. Innovation is totally a social enterprise, so the more folks you can bring into that orbit, the more chance you have of being able to scale those entrepreneurial businesses.” “We’re the world’s leading center for plant and ag science and innovation, and we can see that with the companies we’re growing and attracting,” said Sam Fiorello, chief operating officer and senior vice president for administration and finance at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center . Plant science includes nutrition and agriculture, fields that are evolving, Fiorello said. In a recent trip to New Madrid, Mo., he said he saw “tractors that have more technologyDanforth Center Hosts Life Science Startup Discussionhttp://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/danforth-center-hosts-life-science-startup-discussion
41203 as http://news.stlpublicradio.orgThu, 20 Nov 2014 19:30:02 +0000Danforth Center Hosts Life Science Startup DiscussionDurrie Bouscaren Coding competitions have a way of bringing people together. And GlobalHack's next weekend hackathon will bring them to Ferguson “Some of these people came from MIT, Wash U [Washington University], some of them came from their mom’s basement. Truth of the matter is, the only thing that matters in our world is that you can actually produce,” said local startup CEO Gabe Lozano, who co-founded GlobalHack. GlobalHack III is the company's third quarterly competition and promises $50,000 in prize money. Ferguson-based Emerson Electric is the event's primary sponsor. Coders and designers will be asked to build a program or find a solution that the company can implement for its own use. Lozano said sponsors look at GlobalHacks as a chance to recruit talent. “If they want to know who would be the best people to work on this project going forward, some of those people that are sitting right there in the room,” Lozano said. “It’s like a very, informal job interview where you can learn on the fly‘GlobalHack III’ to be Held in Ferguson this Winterhttp://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/globalhack-iii-be-held-ferguson-winter
40681 as http://news.stlpublicradio.orgWed, 29 Oct 2014 23:14:48 +0000‘GlobalHack III’ to be Held in Ferguson this WinterMaria AltmanA new report out released Monday by the Brookings Institution on "innovation districts" prominently features St. Louis' Cortex. The Rise of the Innovation District: A New Geography of Innovation in America looks at several of these areas in both Europe and the U.S. It defines the districts as "geographic areas where leading-edge anchor institutions and companies cluster and connect with start-ups, business incubators and accelerators." Co-author Julie Wagner said the report is meant to showcase what is happening in innovative centers and encourage other cities to embrace the idea. She said the growth of such districts highlights a shift following the Great Recession. " Now is this opportunity to sort of move away from this consumption-oriented practice of focusing exclusively on retail, say Starbucks and stadiums, and really thinking about your economic strengths in a different way," Wagner said. Part of that shift has been coming from corporations and institutions that no longer wantReport On Rise Of Innovation Districts Highlights St. Louishttp://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/report-rise-innovation-districts-highlights-st-louis
36788 as http://news.stlpublicradio.orgMon, 09 Jun 2014 10:00:00 +0000Report On Rise Of Innovation Districts Highlights St. LouisMaria AltmanMonsanto is giving a $2.5 million grant to BioSTL, the non-profit organization that advocates for bioscience in St. Louis. The announcement came Thursday during InvestMidwest , the venture capital conference that’s showcasing more than 40 innovative companies. BioSTL’s mission includes growing the St. Louis area's economy through the bioscience industry. President and CEO Donn Rubin said the grant will help the non-profit continue its work. " The resources that this grant will provide will allow us to continue and to grow our capability in creating new companies in St. Louis, attracting bioscience companies and really increasing the awareness around the country about the great things that are happening in St. Louis and beyond," he said. Rubin said BioSTL's aim is to promote regional collaboration, increase awareness of St. Louis’ bioscience strength and attract investors. The Monsanto grant is the largest BioSTL has received from a corporation. Follow Maria on Twitter: @radioaltmanBioscience Boost: BioSTL Gets $2.5 Million Granthttp://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/bioscience-boost-biostl-gets-25-million-grant
34787 as http://news.stlpublicradio.orgThu, 27 Mar 2014 20:16:25 +0000Bioscience Boost: BioSTL Gets $2.5 Million GrantMaria AltmanA New York-based apprentice program aimed at giving young adults experience within innovative companies is expanding to St. Louis. Enstitute was founded in New York City by Kane Sarhan and Shaila Ittycheria in 2012. The goal was to help connect students who weren’t ready or interested in a traditional path to college get on-the-job experience with start-up companies and entrepreneurs. A second location was opened in Washington, D.C., in January. Ittycheria is adamant that the placements Enstitute makes are not internships. "It’s been very rewarding to see just how much this model works," Ittycheria said. "Frankly, just what happens when you put a high-potential young adult under a founder or C-level executive who really takes them under their wing and, by exposing them to a broad suite of functional skills, how quickly they accelerate." Typically participants are anywhere from 18 to 24 years old and have varying degrees of education. Of the first 11 students who began the program 2012,New Opportunities: Apprentice Program Enstitute Looks To St. Louishttp://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/new-opportunities-apprentice-program-enstitute-looks-st-louis
34715 as http://news.stlpublicradio.orgTue, 25 Mar 2014 18:04:41 +0000New Opportunities: Apprentice Program Enstitute Looks To St. LouisMaria AltmanSt. Louis’ startup scene gained big momentum last year. A new report by the St. Louis Regional Chamber finds area startups raised more than $380 million in equity investments. That was more than six times the amount raised in 2012. Jay De Long, the Chamber’s vice president of New Ventures and Capital Formation, said the changing attitude toward Midwestern startups from coastal venture capital firms is helping the growth. More importantly, St. Louis has the right structure in place for the new companies. De Long said that structure includes the emergence of business accelerator programs as well as several angel investor groups. The Arch Angels investor group, for example, has deployed more that $40 million since its advent in 2006, which places it nationally as having one of the highest average rounds of investment per company. " The ecosystem in St. Louis is maturing and we have early stage investors working with startups and preparing them for professional investors," De Long said. 2013 A Banner Year For STL Startupshttp://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/2013-banner-year-stl-startups
34610 as http://news.stlpublicradio.orgSat, 22 Mar 2014 21:33:01 +00002013 A Banner Year For STL StartupsCamille PhillipsSt. Louis is beginning to build a name for itself as a center for entrepreneurship. Last year, funding for tech startups in the region almost doubled , bringing in nearly $30 million in investments. The T-Rex campus downtown - founded two years ago explicitly to foster entrepreneurship in St. Louis - is currently home to more than 70 startups. And ITEN, a branch of Innovate St. Louis, is currently working with around 220 ventures. Some have even begun calling St. Louis the next Silicon Valley. But that shouldn't be the goal, said Cliff Holekamp , director of the Entrepreneur Platform at Washington University's Olin School of Business. "We don't need to be the next Silicon Valley," said Holekamp. "We just need to focus on being the best St. Louis." In addition to founding and directing the entrepreneurship program at Washington University in St. Louis , Holekamp is also on the board of several St. Louis startups. He says that for many of his students, starting their own company is moreWhy Are More Entrepreneurs Calling St. Louis Home?http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/why-are-more-entrepreneurs-calling-st-louis-home
31155 as http://news.stlpublicradio.orgMon, 04 Nov 2013 22:33:37 +0000Why Are More Entrepreneurs Calling St. Louis Home?Entrepreneurs are defined as risk-takers. They are people who take a business idea and run with it, hoping their endeavor is commercial viable and one which can be sustained. Earlier this month, business leaders and St. Louis City and County officials announced a new effort to support entrepreneurs and startup companies in the St. Louis region. The goal is to raise $100 million over the next five years. In the second of two shows devoted to St. Louis’ startup and entrepreneurial scene, host Don Marsh talked with entrepreneurs about their business and how they got started. His guests included: Tim Hayden, Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship at Saint Louis University’s John Cook School of Business Khalia Collier, owner and general manager of the St. Louis Surge , a semiprofessional women’s basketball team which plays its games at UMSL Katie Lee, founder of Katie’s Pizzeria and owner and founder of Katie’s Pizza & Pasta , a restaurant she plans to open in September and whichPart Two: Starting Something In St. Louishttp://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/part-two-starting-something-st-louis
27591 as http://news.stlpublicradio.orgThu, 20 Jun 2013 21:50:26 +0000Part Two: Starting Something In St. LouisEarlier this month, business leaders and St. Louis City and County officials announced a new effort to support entrepreneurs and startup companies in the St. Louis region. The goal is to raise $100 million over the next five years. The effort has received national attention from the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times . Host Don Marsh, in the first of two shows devoted to the topic, talked with three people with different roles in St. Louis’ startup scene. Jim Brasunas, Executive Director of ITEN (Information Technology Entrepreneur Network), an umbrella organization for startups in St. Louis Dennis Lower, President and CEO of CORTEX (Center of Research Technology & Entrepreneurial Exchange), CORTEX is a business incubator Brian Matthews, General Partner at Cultivation Capital , a venture capital fund in St. Louis which invests in both technology and life sciences companies Follow St. Louis on the Air on Twitter - @STLonAirPart One: Starting Something In St. Louishttp://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/part-one-starting-something-st-louis
27564 as http://news.stlpublicradio.orgWed, 19 Jun 2013 22:24:39 +0000Part One: Starting Something In St. LouisChris McDanielUpdated 6/13 4:56 with news of entrepreneur fund. Business leaders and St. Louis City and County officials met today (Thursday) to announce a new effort to support entrepreneurs in the area. The goal is to raise $100 million over the next five years. The announcement comes on the tail of a recent report that found last year was a record-breaking year for St. Louis tech startups, which brought in $30 million dollars in investments. St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley said the $100 million goal is bold, but doable. "I believe it can be done, and I believe it's in our best interest to get it done," Dooley said. Dooley told the crowd that the city and county have to have a closer relationship for the region to thrive. "Working together, we can make a great difference in the metropolitan area," Dooley said. "It takes all of us to make this thing happen. One entity cannot do it all by themselves, it's going to take all of us to make this successful." End update Last year was a recordUpdate: Investments In St. Louis Tech Startups Nearly Doubled In 2012http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/update-investments-st-louis-tech-startups-nearly-doubled-2012
27278 as http://news.stlpublicradio.orgWed, 12 Jun 2013 13:00:00 +0000Update: Investments In St. Louis Tech Startups Nearly Doubled In 2012Véronique LaCapraOne of the country’s largest startup incubators will soon be moving into the Cortex bioscience district in St. Louis. The move marks Cambridge Innovation Center’s first expansion out of the Boston area, where it houses more than 500 small to mid-sized companies. CIC’s president and CEO, Ranch Kimball, says he expects the new St. Louis facility to attract mostly technology startups, but says CIC will be open to a variety of businesses. "We’d expect we’d have some healthcare firms, some information technology firms, we probably might have a few spin-outs of University of Missouri-St. Louis, or SLU, or Wash U,” Kimball said. “We’d probably have a couple of marketing, or consulting, or investment firms.” CIC will move into a former telephone factory at the corner of Duncan and Boyle in the Central West End. The building is currently undergoing a $73 million renovation which is scheduled for completion this fall. Washington University will be the other major tenant. The university’s chiefMajor Boston-Area Startup Incubator To Join Wash U In New Cortex Facilityhttp://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/major-boston-area-startup-incubator-join-wash-u-new-cortex-facility
26475 as http://news.stlpublicradio.orgThu, 16 May 2013 22:40:00 +0000Major Boston-Area Startup Incubator To Join Wash U In New Cortex FacilityTim LloydThe numbers are pretty impressive, more than three dozen new biotech startups now call St. Louis home and collectively they’re hauling in tens of millions of dollars from investors. Even entrepreneurs who once skipped town for greener pastures are bringing their bio-focused companies back home, and just last week a major piece of a planned $2.1 billion expansion of the life sciences district Cortex fell into place . As part of St. Louis Public Radio’s series, “A Good Year”, Tim Lloyd spoke with Donn Rubin, president of BioSTL , a regional organization with the aim of turning St. Louis into a haven for bio-tech entrepreneurs, about the swell of bio-tech startups and what it means to the future of the region’s economy. Follow Tim Lloyd on Twitter: @timslloyd2012: A 'Good Year' For Sprouting Biotech Startups http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/2012-good-year-sprouting-biotech-startups
7735 as http://news.stlpublicradio.orgMon, 31 Dec 2012 10:00:00 +00002012: A 'Good Year' For Sprouting Biotech Startups Joseph LeahySilicon Valley has been the place for IT development since the dawn of the computer age, but new technology and cheaper resources are leveling the playing field for other cities across the country. As St. Louis Public Radios Joseph Leahy reports, a network of local business leaders is pushing to make St. Louis a regional hub for IT start-up companies.Making tech start-ups stick in St. Louishttp://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/making-tech-start-ups-stick-st-louis
3304 as http://news.stlpublicradio.orgThu, 22 Mar 2012 11:25:39 +0000Making tech start-ups stick in St. Louis